• The EF introduces an internship program.

• ENS Labs introduces Namechain.

• Virgil Griffith release update.

• RISC Zero introduces Kailua.

The Ethereum Foundation (EF) announced its first formal internship program, set to begin in summer 2025. Aspiring Ethereum developers and researchers can apply until December 9, 2024, for a chance to work on projects ranging from protocol security, account abstraction, scaling research, and client development, over 12 weeks. Unlike the Ethereum Protocol Fellowship (EPF), the internship program is tailored for individuals with a general skill set seeking to deepen their knowledge of Ethereum, rather than requiring advanced protocol expertise. Mentoring teams include the Protocol Security Research Team, Robust Incentives Group, Portal Network Team, Geth, and the EEST Project.

At last week’s frENSday conference, ENS Labs unveiled Namechain, a zkEVM-based Layer 2 solution designed to enhance cost efficiency, performance, and the developer experience for ENS. Namechain will integrate with an existing EVM-compatible ZK Stack chain and is expected to launch on mainnet in 2025. Namechain is a key component of ENSv2, a comprehensive five-phase strategy to upgrade the protocol's architecture. The overhaul will migrate primary .eth domains to Layer 2, introduce new core ENS contracts for both Layer 1 and Layer 2, deploy ENS core infrastructure on Layer 2, and synchronize the new contracts with the legacy system. While domain registrations and renewals will move to Layer 2, name resolution will remain anchored on Ethereum’s Layer 1.

ENS General Counsel Alexander Urbelis provided an update on Virgil Griffith’s situation and anticipated release. In addition to his role at ENS, Urbelis is part of the legal team representing Griffith, an Ethereum developer arrested in 2019 and sentenced to 63 months for delivering Ethereum-related presentations in North Korea. In July 2024, Griffith's sentence was reduced by 10 months. While this brought him closer to release, complications arose when he selected Baltimore as his halfway house. Griffith will be released by April 2025 at the latest, when his full sentence is scheduled to conclude, though his legal team continues to work toward a sooner release.

RISC Zero introduced Kailua, a hybrid rollup solution that merges the cost-efficiency and high throughput of Optimistic Rollups with the fast finality of ZK Rollups. Kailua enables chains to achieve configurable settlement times of under an hour. It introduces an innovative proposer/challenger model powered by the OP Stack’s Kona suite and a dispute resolution protocol using RISC Zero proofs.

• On blob markets and base fees

• Hasu’s proposal to grow Lido staking

• Péter Szilágyi takes a sabbatical

• Espresso preconfs live on Gelato

• ETHPrague announced for May 2025

• Tally governance staking era

• Starknet data efficient

• Apply to be a Swell delegate

• $1b USDT issued

• Ethereum Foundation releases its 2024 report.

• Fileverse releases a Devcon Collab Portal.

• Blockscout launches a Merits Program.

• Puffer Finance launches UniFi on tetsnet.

The Ethereum Foundation published its 2024 report, outlining its non-profit role in supporting the Ethereum ecosystem through funding, development, and education. Guided by three core values—long-term thinking, subtraction, and stewardship of open-source values—the EF aims to enable sustainable ecosystem growth. The report details spending allocations and treasury holdings, noting that the EF allocated $105.4M in 2022 and $134.9M in 2023 across internal teams and broader ecosystem initiatives. The EF’s treasury stands at $970 million, with the majority held in ETH. The report also highlights a conflict of interest policy, which sets guidlines for EF members to manage and disclose conflicts.

Fileverse, an onchain file-sharing platform, launched the Devcon Collab Portal, a community hub for Devcon SEA attendees to build and access a communal knowledge base. The hub enables users to create posts, message other attendees directly, browse talks, submit resources, and explore details about Devcon community hubs. With support for decentralized identities like ENS, users can easily connect and interact with each other while retaining control over their digital identity. Fileverse offers a range of tools for managing onchain files, including uploading, sharing, setting privacy options, and making files accessible through IPFS.

Blockscout launched the Blockscout Merits Program, a gamified reward program aiming to incentivize user engagement in open-source, decentralized block exploration. Users can earn "Merits" by completing daily tasks, joining campaigns, using Blockscout tools like Swapscout, and referring friends. In addition to Merits, users can earn NFT Badges with varying rarities, awarded for special achievements. The badges can be displayed in the Merits Dashboard and can be traded in secondary markets. Blocksout plans to introduce a leaderboard and partner campaigns, aiming to help users learn and explore Blockscout.

Puffer Finance launched UniFi, its Layer 2 based rollup solution, on testnet, initially open to builders. UniFi provides sub-second transaction speeds and near instant asset withdrawals. As a based rollup, it uses Ethereum L1 validators for transaction sequencing. In its mainnet release, Puffer plans to introduce atomic composability, allowing users to execute instant cross-layer interactions between L1 and L2 within a single Ethereum block.

• Sky keeps SKY brand 

• Multilane sequencing model

• SNARKifying the Ethereum Protocol

• Devcon distributes waitlist tickets

• ETH ETFs $79m net inflows

• Eclipse goes live on mainnet

• Jed's blog on Infinex journey

• Mekong Pectra testnet goes live.

• OP Labs proposes ERC-7802.

• Velodrome Superchain 1.0 goes live.

• Degen Chain is considering a chain relaunch.

The Ethereum devops team, Ethpandaops, launched Mekong, the first short-lived testnet for the upcoming Pectra upgrade. Mekong includes all eight scoped EIPs for Pectra, including EIP-7702 for enhanced UX, EIP-7251 for increasing the maximum effective staking balance, and EIP-6110 for new deposit and exit mechanisms. Application developers, tooling providers, and stakers, can now test Pectra’s changes ahead mainnet deployment. Mekong is named after Southeast Asia's Mekong River, aligning with the location of Devcon VII. Ethpandaops also launched a landing page where users can access a JSON RPC endpoint, a block explorer, and request funds from a faucet. The Pectra upgrade is anticipated to launch on Ethereum mainnet in the first half of 2025.

OP Labs introduced ERC-7802, a new minimal interface standard for cross-chain token transfers that allows tokens to be minted and burned across multiple blockchain ecosystems. ERC-7802 aims to create a unified standard for cross-chain transfers across Ethereum rollups, sidechains, and third-party bridges. ERC-7802 includes two main attributes: Bridge Agnosticism, which separates cross-chain logic from token contracts, allowing bridges to manage minting and burning without embedding bridge-specific details within tokens. And Extensibility, which provides a foundation for future enhancements, such as rate limits or transaction fees. ERC-7802 was developed with contributions from Uniswap and DeFi Wonderland.

Velodrome Superchain 1.0, the first version of Velodrome’s MetaDEX on the Superchain, is now live with its initial deployment on Mode Network. The launch allows users to cast votes with veVELO on OP Mainnet for pools on Mode, bridge rewards to LPs on Mode, and place voting incentives on either OP Mainnet or Mode. The deployment uses Superlane, a Hyperlane module that enables cross-chain communication and interoperability across OP Stack chains. Velodrome Superchain aims to be the primary liquidity hub on the Superchain, with planned support to expand to additional chains. Mode is the third-largest Superchain, after Base and OP Mainnet.

Degen Chain, an L3 on built on Arbitrum Orbit, is considering launching a new chain after facing ongoing challenges with its rollup provider, Conduit. In a community update, Degen claimed that Conduit withheld sequencer fees, demanded a new contract, and engaged in months of stalled negotiations. Degen stated they have been attempting to migrate the Degen L3 chain from Conduit since August. In response, Conduit indicated that they are prepared to facilitate an offboarding without catered support and only need an address to transfer rollup upgrade permissions.

• Ink, Kraken L2, goes live on testnet

• Core devs host 200th ACDE Call

• SWELL token claims go live

• Wevm releases npm i ox@0.1.0

• Azura's Strategic Fartcoin Reserve